Whisk in Modern Waltz

Ballroom Blitz #095

Whisk in Modern Waltz - Dec 21, 2023

Transcript

Ian: Hey, hey, hey, random dancers from the interwebs. My name's Ian,

Lindsey: and my name's Lindsey,

Ian: and welcome

Ian & Lindsey: to Ballroom Blitz!

Lindsey: Hello beautiful ballroom dancers, welcome back to another Ballroom Blitz. We are in the modern world today, it's the beautiful Modern Waltz that we're having a look at, and a very classic and lovely move; it is the Whisk.

So, the Whisk is quite a short figure, it only takes up three steps. Which matches in with our three beats for the bar, so it's only a bar long. But it is a classic way to get from our closed position into Promenade and that sets up a whole world of opportunity for all of your promenade figures. So, let's have a look at the Whisk.

[Demonstration without music]

Lindsey: Let's have a look at the leader steps first.

Ian: Okay leaders, three simple steps in the Whisk figure, but like a lot of your Modern Waltz figures; how hard can we make three simple steps? Well, there's a few things you want to make sure of. Firstly you are going to be driving forward on your left foot. Don't wimp out of this drive, make sure that it's nice and straight, in line with your partner, heel down, let's go. After we have done we that want to move to the side, but not too abruptly. So, you've just got a nice power step forward, you want to move more to the side than a left foot change but not suddenly like you've put it in second gear going down the highway. So we want to move forward driving on the left a little bit more to the side, we can do that by just bending a little bit more in the left knee, across to the side but it will still go slightly forward, and it's on this step where you want to say I want to end in Promenade. So, it's where we want to start to move our position into Promenade, and then once we do that we just want to tuck our foot around, you can start to rise through that step, you can start to Ronde as you go along, that's completely fine. The base version is basically forward, to the side, tuck the foot, end in Promenade, and over the end of that second step that sideward step and tucking the foot, that's where we want to transition from the Closed Position to the Promenade Position.

Lindsey: Now followers, when this figure starts we may not know at the beginning that it is a Whisk, as Ian said. It's through that second step where they shift slightly differently to the side, and start to use their frame, and changing their position that we will go aha! I know what this one is. So to begin with, all we'll feel is that they are driving forward on their left foot, that means we go backwards on our right foot. We'll feel that shift to the side then, so that was my right foot I took the backward step on, I'll go to the left and feel a rise through it on my left foot, and then the frame work there will encourage me to tuck my foot for my third step so it is back right side left tuck right. And it's really quite important that you do get your weight on that third step. In a Samba when we Whisk, the foot tucks but we don't actually put terribly much weight on it, here we want to put all of our weight on it. Every step after a Whisk will be forward on the right foot for the leader, and forward on the left foot for the follower, sort of using that back foot to drive through into whatever you're doing next. So do make sure that when you tuck that foot, so if I do the follower steps, Right, Left, that you do get your weight on your right right foot. So, drop that heel, allow it to come back down, you'll be nice and balanced, and then get a nice drive into your next figure.

[Demonstration with music]

Lindsey: There you have it, the Whisk in the Modern Waltz. Try it out, like we said it is a beautiful way of getting from your Closed Position to your Promenade Position. Leaders you'll find that you can be a little bit creative with how you turn it. You can put a little bit of turn onto it to set up different lines for what you want to dance next. So, try it out, let us know how you go, and we'll see you next time.

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